Itanagar, Jul 28 : The high-profile kidnapping of Getem Apang, son of former Arunachal Chief Minister Gegong Apang, close on the heels of twin murders of sisters here last month has made the administration in this generally peaceful state sit up.
Crime has never been much of a problem in Arunachal Pradesh exemplified best by the fact that jails are coming up in the state only now.Crimes, if any, hardly found space in the media before, but the scenario suddenly changed after the kidnapping of Apang’s son and murder of two Monpa (local) girls at Kalaktang in West Kameng district last month.
To respond to the new reality, Deputy Commissioner Bidol Tayeng said, three additional police check points have been set up in vulnerable areas in Itanagar as the first measure. The areas are used by abductors to smuggle their catches to Assam through Bodo-dominated areas.
Executive orders have also been issued to regulate the timing of business in wine shops so that they do not remain open beyond the permissible hours.
Night patrolling has also started mostly by magistrates. It has already led to the arrest of 18 drunk youngsters and eight girls from the streets, restaurants and liquor joints.
Seven wine shops have been shut down and show cause notice issued to them for violating rules.
An official release said information leading to arrest of criminals involved in murder, kidnap and rape would fetch Rs 10,000. For crimes like burglary, theft and dacoity the informers would get Rs 3,000 for each case.
Besides having no jail, Arunachal is the only state where the judiciary has not yet been separated from the executive. The deputy commissioners play the dual role of heading district administration and district and session courts.
Interestingly construction of the first jail was completed here in 2005 but it was lying non-functional since then.
If one visits it one will find a plaque at the gate saying Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil had inaugurated it on April 3, 2005. But the fact is Patil came all the way from Delhi to inaugurate it. However, owing to the demise of Pope John Paul II, he had to cancel the programme.
Patil later visited Itanagar to lay the foundation of the airport here but he did not go to the jail complex at Juli overlooking the Rajbhavan, to complete his unfinished job.
IG (prison) C Mishra said, by October next the central jail here with a capacity to accommodate 50 inmates would be ready and 52 prisoners from Arunachal, presently lodged in Lakhimpur jail in Assam, would be shifted.
Another jail in Tezu in Lohit district and five sub-jails in Longding (Tirap), Passiohat, Aalo, Yingkiong and Koloriang have been constructed. Construction of two more sub-jails at Khonsa (Tirap) and Changlang are to be completed.
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